Miami concrete contractors: workers' comp rates and a real payroll example

Concrete businesses in Miami-Dade County

According to County Business Patterns, 2,485 people worked at 165 poured concrete foundation and structure contractors (NAICS 238110) establishments in Miami-Dade County in 2023.

That is 9.1% of the 1,804 such establishments statewide, and the highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.

Divide their reported annual payroll by headcount and the average is about $63,367 per employee, the base your premium is calculated on.

Narrowing to ZIP codes with a Miami postal address, the same Census program lists 63 concrete contractor establishments in 2023.

Concrete firms make up 2.4% of the 6,754 construction establishments in Miami-Dade County.

For concrete contractor firms, Miami-Dade County's average pay of $63,367 sits above Orange County ($58,587) and below Hillsborough County ($63,956).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 3,490 cement masons and concrete finishers in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area in May 2024, at a median wage of $22.80 an hour, above the Florida median of $22.34.

At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $47,430 a year, which adds roughly $2,459 of class 5213 premium.

2026 Florida class codes and rates

Rates are the 2026 Florida manual rates published by the FWCJUA, matching the standard filing approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation for policies effective on or after January 1, 2026.

How concrete contractors are classified

Concrete payroll usually sits in two classes. Structural work, such as foundations, tilt-wall, columns and elevated slabs, is 5213 at $5.184 per $100. Flatwork, such as driveways, sidewalks, patios and slab-on-grade floors, is 5221 at $3.873. The difference is meaningful, so a contractor doing both should track each job by type. Pump-truck operation and ready-mix delivery have their own codes.

At audit

• Track structural pours (5213) separately from flatwork (5221) job by job; the rate gap is large enough to matter at audit.
• Pump operators and ready-mix drivers are classified apart from the finishing crew.

Permits and licensing in Miami

In Miami, the City of Miami Building Department handles building and right-of-way permits for foundations, slabs and driveways. Under section 440.103 of Florida law, a concrete business has to show proof of workers' comp or an exemption to receive a building permit.

Permits inside city limits come from the City of Miami Building Department, while county-licensed trades are qualified by Miami-Dade County's Construction Trades Qualifying Board, which meets in two divisions: one for building trades and one for electrical, mechanical and plumbing. Miami-Dade is one of the two counties in the Florida Building Code's High-Velocity Hurricane Zone, where exterior products need specific product approval and roofing, windows and walls face stricter inspection. Hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, and the county's high-rise market keeps crews working at height year-round.

Miami's construction economy leans vertical: condo and office towers in Brickell, Downtown and Edgewater, hotel and mixed-use work, and a deep renovation market in older neighborhoods. Tower jobs bring large general contractors with formal subcontractor prequalification, where a current certificate, a waiver of subrogation and a clean experience modifier are often required to bid. Below the towers, small residential crews do most of the repair and remodeling work, often in Spanish, and many sub to several GCs at once. The City of Miami regulates development under Miami 21, a form-based zoning code that shapes building height and frontage by neighborhood, so permits often move through zoning review before building review. PortMiami, which calls itself the Cruise Capital of the World, and the airport cargo district add marine, industrial and logistics construction to the city's tower and residential work.

• Vertical construction in Brickell, Downtown and Edgewater puts more payroll on work at height than in most Florida cities.
• Salt air and flood exposure on coastal jobs add corrosion, wet-work and water-intrusion hazards.

Common claims for concrete contractors in Miami

Miami concrete crews form and pour elevated slabs and columns on towers and parking structures, which keeps much of their payroll in structural concrete. High-rise and parking-structure work in the HVHZ keeps structural crews on elevated decks and around pump booms.

• Back and knee injuries from screeding and finishing
• Chemical burns from wet cement on skin
• Struck-by injuries from pump booms and formwork
• Falls from elevated forms and decks
• Heat illness during early-morning pours that run into midday

What to have ready for a Miami concrete quote

• Payroll for your Miami concrete work, split by class (5213, 5221) and with office staff listed separately
• Certificates or exemptions for every sub on your Miami jobs, checked in the Proof of Coverage database
• Three years of loss runs for the concrete business, plus your current experience modifier if you have one
• Recent permits pulled with the City of Miami Building Department, which show the volume and type of Miami work
• Any jobs planned outside Miami-Dade County or outside Florida this year, so the policy covers them

Questions from Miami concrete contractors